Outboard motor floating device



May 9, 1950 H. E. MYERS OUTBOARD MOTOR FLOATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 4, 1947 Fig. 3

Inventor Herman E. Myers y 9, 1950 H. E. MYERS 2,506,884

OUTBOARD MOTOR FLOATING DEVICE Filed Aug. 4, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Her/ban E. Myers Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OUTBOARD MOTOR FLOATING DEVICE Herman E. Myers, MilwaukeaHWis assiglior of one-half to Donald Lee Mills, Milwaukee, Wis.

- Application August 4, 1947, Serial No. 765,869

8 claims; (01. 115-05) This invention relates toimp'r'ovem'ents in outboard motor floating device's.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved device for automatically floating an outboard motor at approximately the surface of a body of Water should the same accidentally fall from a boat into the Water.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved outboard motor floating device comprising an inflatable waterproof bag and a supply of carbon dioxide gas automatically released by the dissolving or disintegration of a trigger holding pin or plug when the outboard motor and attached device falls into a body of water, said device being disposed in the filling cap of the gasoline tank of the outboard motor and normally supported in collapsed and in set position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved outboard motor floating device com prising a self-contained inflatable waterproof bag and a supply of carbon dioxide gas, and a normally set releasable valve mechanism held closedby anexp'endable plug or pin-of lime stick or other desired material which will disintegrate upon being immersed in water, as for" example when the outboard motor falls overboard from a In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved outboard motor floating device showing the'same' in operation with an outboard motor supported approximately at the surface of a body of water;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 4 looking down upon the floating device with bag removed and the valve mechanism disposed in set or closed position;

Figure 3 is a side elevation ofthe improved outboard motor floating device being shown partly broken away and in section taken'on the line 33 of Figure 2 to show the collapsed bag disposed within the body of the devicey Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view through the improved outboard motor floating device snow in operativ position;

Figure is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 4 showing the valve mechanism in actuated or open position; and,

Figure 6' is a perspective view of the dissolving or disintegrating locking pin.

Lik characters of reference are used throughout the following specification and the accompanying drawings to designate corresponding parts.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided and illustrated an outboard motor generally designated by the referenc number I having a gasoline tank 2' with the usual internally threaded filling opening 3.

The improved floating device for the outboard motor I is adapted to be threaded into the filling opening 3 in the gasoline tank 2, and comprises a cylindrical tank 4- in which carbon dioxide gas will be stored. A plug 5 will be disposed in the lower end of the gas tank 4 and may be removed for refilling th tank when necessary. An eye 6 will be suitably supported upon the inner end of the gas tank 4, and will support a length of chain 1 upon the outer end of which will be mounted a transvers resilient wire safety bar or member 8 disposable in the gasoline tank 2 for preventing the lossof the device therefrom;

The upper end of the gas tank 3 is externally threaded-as at 9 and is formed with a reduced or restricted internall threaded discharge opening Ill through its upper end.

A' cylindrical body H is formed with a thickened bottom I2 and with an upstanding side wall [3. A depending attaching collar [4 is formed iritegrallywith the bottom [2 of the body H and is internally threaded as at l5 for threadin'g upon the external threads 9' formed on the upper end of the carbon dioxide storage tank 4. The" collar It is also externally threaded as at It for threading into the filling opening 3 in the gasoline tank 2 of the outboard motor I'.

The bottom [2 of the body H is axially bored. as at- H to receive the centrally disposed valve member l8. A washer I9 is adapted to be disposed upon the upper surface of the bottom l2, and a collapsible air bag 200i waterproof material is adapted to be supported'thereon within the-limitsof the side wall 13. Thevalve' member- I8 is formedwith ahead 2| on-its upper end which'willbe disposed withinthe'op'ening in -the air bag 20, and spaced rubber gaskets 22 and 23 will be disposed aboutthe valvem'e'mber IS interiorly and exteriorly of the air bag 20 for pro- 3 viding a tight joint between the bag 20 and the: valve member I8.

The lower or inner end of the valve member l8 will be externally threaded as at 24 for threading into the interiorly threaded discharge opening ll] of the gas storage tank 4. A rubber gasket 25 will be disposed about the valve member l8 between ,the bottom l2 of the body H and the upper end of the gas storage tank 4 to provide an air tight seal therefor.

A removable disk-shaped cover 26 will be disposed upon the top of the collapsed air bag 2|! within the body ll when the device is not in actual use.

The valve member I8 is formed with ofiset vertical passages 2'! and 28 and with a laterally extending passage 29 connecting said passages 21 and 28, extending to the edge of the valve member IS. A seat 33 is formed at the inner end of the passage 29 and is adapted to receive the valve ball 3| when forced upon its seat by means of the head 32 on the inner end of a valve actuating pin 33, being disposed in the slot 34 in the bottom I2 of the body H, and engaging a limiting washer 35 adjustably mounted upon said pin 33.

The outer end of the pin 33 may be extended through an opening '36 in the side wall l3 of the body i| adjacent the stop 31 formed on the inner surface of said side wall i3, and a trigger flnger 38 is formed adjacent the outer end of said pin 33, being engaged by the plug 39 when said pin 33 is pressed inwardly to compress the coil spring 34 and to hold the valve ball 3| on its seat 30.

A peripheral channel 40 is formed about the engage the plug 39 when the compressed spring 4| is released, thereby knocking the plug 39 from its trigger finger 38, permitting the coil spring 34 to move the pin 33 outwardly, and permitting the valve ball 3| to be unseated and the carbon dioxide from the gas storage tank 4 to pass through the valve member l8 into the air bag 20 to inflate the same.

The bottom l2 of the body II is further recessed as at 43 to house the arcuate trigger member 44 which is pivoted at 45 at one end, and is formed with a laterally extending arm 46 adjacent its opposite end, said arm 46 being engageable with the plug 42 for holding the coil spring 4| in compressed or set position. An eye 4'! will be formed through the opposite end of the trigger member 44 and will be alignable with an opening 48 in the washer l9 and with an opening 43 extending through the bottom I2, to receive the lime stick or other dissolvable trigger holding pin 50, which will dissolve or disintegrate when the outboard motor falls into a body of water and the water reaches the trigger holding pin 50.

An air vent passage will be formed through the bottom l2 of the body II and will be open to e connect with the gasoline tank 2 when the motor is in operation. A needle valve 52 having a head 53 will be threadably disposed in a passage 54 through the bottom l2 which will intersect the passage 5|, so that the said passage 5| may be closed when the motor is not in operation to prevent accidental draining of the gasoline through the air vent passage 4| if and when the outboard motor is laid upon its side.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the mode of operation of the improved float device will be as follows:

Assuming that the device is in position within the gasoline tank 2 of the outboard motor I, and that the bag 20 is collapsed within the body H and the cover 26 disposed thereover. In the event that the outboard motor falls overboard from a boat, the water will enter th body through the opening 49 in the bottom l2 and will engage the lime stick holding pin 50 used for holding the trigger member 44 in set position with the coil spring 4| fully compressed. As the water disintegrates the pin 50, the trigger member 44 will move inwardly within its recess 43, permitting the coil spring to project the plug 42 to forcibly engage the plug 39 holding the trigger finger 38 and the pin 33 from its set position, thus permitting the coil spring 34 to move the pin 33 outwardly to permit the valve ball 3| to become unseated from its seat 3:), whereupon the carbon dioxide gas will flow from the gas storage tank 4 through the valve member |8 and into the Waterproof air bag 20 to inflate the same. As soon as the air bag 20 has been inflated, its buoyancy will be sufiicient to float the outboard motor upwardly until it reaches a point adjacent the surface of the water, whereupon it may be readily retrieved.

As will be further obvious from the foregoing description that there has been devised and provided a highly efficient form of an outboard motor floating device which will be highly efiicient in operation, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and produce.

While the preferred embodiment of the instant invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention thereto, as many minor changes in detail of construction may be resorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. In combination with an outboard motor having a fuel tank and an air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank forming the closure for said fuel tank, a valve body member disposed between said air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank, a valve in said valve body, and resiliently tensioned means for holding said valve in closed position.

2. In combination with an outboard motor having a fuel tank and an air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank forming the closure for said fuel tank, a valve body member disposed between said air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank, said valve body member having ofiset connecting passages formed therein, a ball valve in said valve body, resiliently tensioned means for holding said valve in closed position, and an actuating means for releasing said valve to permit the carbon dioxide to pass from said storage tank to inflate said air bag.

3. In combination with an outboard motor having a fuel tank and an air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank forming the closure for said fuel tank, a valve body member disposed between said air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank for securing said air bag, said valve body member having offset vertical passages and a transverse connecting passage formed therein, a ball valve in said transverse passage, resiliently tensioned means for holding said valve in closed position, resiliently tensioned actuating means for releasing said valve to permit the carbon dioxide from said tank to pass to said bag for inflating the invention, what is same, and a latchable trigger for holding said actuating means in set position.

4. The subject matter as claimed in claim 3, and an expendable and dissolvable locking for holding said latchable trigger in set position.

In combination With an outboard motor having a fuel tank and an air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank forming a removable closure for said fuel tank, a valve disposed between said air bag and storage tank, a trigger latch for controlling the operation of said valve, and a dissolvable pin for holding said trigger latch in latched position.

6. In combination with an outboard motor having a fuel tank and an air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank forming the closure for said fuel tank, a valve body member disposed between said air bag and carbon dioxide storage tank for securing said air bag, said valve body member having offset vertical passages and a transverse connecting passage formed therein, a ball valve in said transverse passage, resiliently tensioned means for holding said valve in closed position, an arcuate channel in said valve body, tension means secured in said channel, means on said tension means to engage said ball valve tension means to unseat same, and a latchable trigger for holding said channel tension means in set position.

7. The subject matter as claimed in claim 3, and a dissolvable locking pin for holding said latcnable trigger in set position.

8. The combination of claim 6 wherein said ball valve tension means includes a pin engaging said valve, 9. spring on said pin urging said pin into valve releasing position and a trigger finger engaging said pin to normally retain the ball valve in closed position.

HERMAN E. MYERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,247,809 Foster Nov. 27, 1917 1,290,927 Fontaine Jan. 14, 1919 2,243,551 Daly May 27, 1941 2,284,650 Grant June 2, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 68,632 Germany Aug. 1, 1914 

